april current affairs

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RBI/ BANKING/BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH

30 April: India and Japan have signed a Five-point action agenda to increase bilateral trade and investment between the two nations. The five-point agenda includes

o Development of selected townships in India as Japanese industrial townships.

o Promotion of investment and infrastructure development.

o Further development and cooperation in IT sector.

o Enhancing cooperation in strategic sectors.

o Asia-Pacific economic integration.

30 April: Online marketplace Flipkart has acquired mobile marketing start-up Appiterate in order to strengthen its mobile platform.

30 April: Real estate portal PropTiger.com has acquired its rival Makaan.com to ramp up its presence in Indias secondary property market. After the acquisition both portals will run separately. This acquisition will help PropTiger.com to create a comprehensive online real-estate platform in India which will offer end-to-end services to real estate developers, home buyers, property brokers, private equity investors and banks.

30 April: Seychelles, an archipelago of 90000 inhabitants became the 161st member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is one of the smallest nations among the WTO members.

28 April: French IT services firm Capgemini has announced its plan to acquire US based information

technology (IT) outsourcer IGATE for US 4 billion dollars. This acquisition will help Capgemini to strengthen its foothold in the North American market.


28 April : Parliament has passed Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2014. It was first passed in Lok Sabha on December 22, 2014 and later in Rajya Sabha on April 28, 2015. This bill amends Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 and aims to strengthen the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and deepen their financial inclusion.

28 April: French IT services firm Capgemini has announced its plan to acquire US based information technology (IT) outsourcer IGATE for US 4 billion dollars. This acquisition will help Capgemini to strengthen its foothold in the North American market.

27 April: Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) has won The Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015. The award was presented to the BMB in the Technology Implementation category of Best Outsourcing Project (New Bank).Usha Ananthasubramanian, Chairman and Managing Director of BMB received the award at a function held in Hongkong as a part of The Asian Banker Summit 2015. 26 April: Leading Indian public sector bank Bank of Baroda (BoB) has partnered with UAE Exchange to offer Non-resident Indian (NRI) customers an instant cash transfer facility. This agreement will facilitate customers can send money within minutes to their desired bank accounts in BoB in India.

24 April: India has emerged as the fourth largest supplier of generic medicines to the United States. Indias generic medicines exports have touched over US 4 billion dollars in 2013-14 in spite of stringent regulatory measures imposed by US.

24April: Union Government has allowed Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Indias retirement fund body to invest five per cent of its corpus in exchange traded funds i.e. in stock markets. The new pattern allows EPFO to invest 5% of its incremental income in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) from the current financial year i.e. 2015-16.

24 April: National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) signed a memorandum of

understanding (MoU) with e-commerce giant Snapdeal to roll out digital marketing courses. The MoU aims at helping small and medium enterprises/businesses and artisans who want to take the online route to become entrepreneurs.

23 April: National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) on 23 April 2015 signed a

memorandum of understanding (MoU) with e-commerce giant Snapdeal to roll out digital marketing courses. The MoU aims at helping small and medium enterprises/businesses and artisans who want to take the online route to become entrepreneurs.

23 April: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved three highway projects in

Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra with a total cost of 5,150 crore rupees.

23 April: Union Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for signing of a shipping agreement between India and Jordan.The agreement aims at strengthening cooperation


between both nations in the area of shipping and to provide sustained mutual assistance and advice on merchant shipping and other related maritime matters.

22 April: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL)

and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to export petroleum products to Bangladesh.

22 April: Online travel services provider MakeMyTrip.com has acquired Mygola, a startup travel guide firm.

21 April: Indias largest private sector lender Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank has launched a payment service Tap-n-Pay. It was launched by bank in collaboration with Tech Mahindra. This payment service is based on the near-field communications (NFC) technology which will enable its customers make over-the-counter payments without using cash.

17 April: Indias second largest state-owned oil explorer company, Oil India Limited (OIL) has

commissioned 54 MW wind energy projects saddled between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

15 April: Finnish telecom network equipment maker Nokia announced acquisition of French telecom network firm Alcatel- Lucent. This merger will create the worlds largest supplier of telecom equipments that powers mobilephone networks by surpassing Ericsson and Huawei.

14 April: Online restaurant guide Zomato acquired MaplePOS, a cloud-based point of sale product for

restaurants developed by Delhi based MapleGraph.

13 April: Mobile commerce platform Paytm inked memorandum of understanding MoU with National Centre for Trade Information (NCTI) to promote Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

11 April: Indias first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) became operational at Gujarat

International Finance Tec (GIFT) City in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat.

9 April: India and United States (US) have signed Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) transportation between both countries. It was signed by Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari and Anthony Foxx, US Secretary of Transportation in New Delhi.

8 April: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 April 2015 launched Micro Units Development Re-finance

Agency (MUDRA) Bank in New Delhi. MUDRA Bank will act as a regulator for Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) involved in manufacturing, Trading and service activities to promote their growth. The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana will be the main support system for the bank and will be the part of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

8 April: Online marketplace Snapdeal acquired Indias fastest growing mobile transaction platform

FreeCharge.


7 April: State owned Dena Bank has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India to provide insurance cover to its all Aadhaar-linked savings account holders in the age group of 18 to 50 years. LIC will provide insurance cover under the Union Governments flagship Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJBY) scheme.

3 April: In 2015 FM Global Resilience Index, India has been ranked a low 119 out of 130 countries. India

despite having scope and global potential was ranked 119 compared to 112th rank in 2014 Global Resilience Index.

3 April: Union Government has unveiled new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) to make India an exporting

powerhouse in the next five years.The new trade policy will incorporate government ambitious initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India mission, Skill India programme, ease of business in order to boost jobs and take Indias exports to 900 billion dollars by 2020.

1 April: Punjab Government has launched Padho Punjab- Khedo Punjab Mission i.e. Learn Punjab- Play

Punjab Mission. It is a special mission launched to provide school students a separate period in the curriculum for playing along with studies.

1 April: New Zealand cricketer Kyle Mills announced retirement from international cricket. He made this

announcement after New Zealand lost to Australia in ICC World Cup 2015 final.

NATION THIS MONTH

30 April: India ranks at 13th position in the world in terms of generation electricity from nuclear source. This information was given by Minister of State (MoS) Dr Jitendra Singh. The ranking was based upon the data published by Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2014.

30 April: Union Government has extended e-Tourist Visa scheme to 31 more countries with an effect from 31 May 2015. In this regard, Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a notification. With this the total number of countries under the scheme has gone up to 76.

30 April: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its nod to amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), 1988 by pursuing the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013. Key amendments are:

i. Proposes more stringent punishment for the offences of bribery, both for the bribe giver and the bribe

taker. ii. Enhances punishment from the minimum 6 months to 3 years and from the maximum five years to seven

years. iii. Extends the protection of prior sanction for prosecution to public servants who cease to hold office due to

retirement and resignation.


29 April: The logo for International Day of Yoga was launched in New Delhi on 29 April 2015. It was launched by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Union Minister of State (MoS) for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik.

29 April: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered a complete ban on burning of any kind of garbage, leaves, plastic waste and rubber in the open in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).

28 April: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully tested an indigenous cryogenic engine at Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. A team headed by Director D Karthikesan had led the testing. This engine will allow launch vehicles to carry satellites of up to capacity of four tonnes in geostationary orbit. It will also give boost to Indias interplanetary probes and manned space missions.

28 April: The Union government has cancelled licences of nearly 9,000 Non- Governmental Organisations for violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

27April: Indias largest power producer, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) flagged off a Mobile

Science Lab (MSL) as part of its efforts to promote scientific learning.MSL seeks to revolutionize rural education in India and make hands-on learning accessible to underprivileged children.

27April: Indian Army has named the rescue and aid to Nepal Operation Maitri or friendship which was

aftermath of 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal. This operation will involve number of Indian military aircraft and choppers along with bus services through road route.

26 April: A high-intensity earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale had struck central Nepal

between its capital Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara. Earthquakes epicenter was 80 kilometers east of Pokhra near Kathmandu.

25 April: State of Assam has been awarded as the Best e-Panchayat state on 25 April 2015 on the occasion

of National Panchayati Raj Diwas.

24 April: Every year April 24 is being observed as National Panchayati Raj (PR) Diwas across India.

23 April: Union Cabinet has approved lowering of age of juveniles from eighteen to sixteen years for heinous crimes. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

23 April: The Railway Ministry has launched utsonmobile, a mobile application for paperless unreserved

tickets.The application service was launched by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi. This application will allow its passenger to buy a ticket on the move and to board the train with the ticket secured on his mobile phone in digital format, without any need for printing the ticket.


23 April: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved three highway projects in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra with a total cost of 5,150 crore rupees.

22 April: Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) received an ISO 9001:2008 certification

from the British Standards Institute (BSI). These licences or permissions include for satellite Television channels, multi-system operators, teleports, community radio stations and DTH services.

21 April: Indian Railways launched E-Samiksha, an online monitoring mechanism.E-Samiksha aims at

monitoring implementation of various ongoing projects of Indian Railways on real-time basis including Rail Budget proposals.

20 April: Indian Navys new stealth destroyer named INS Visakhapatnam was launched on 20 April 2015 at the Mazgaon Docks Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai, Maharashtra.Visakhapatnam is the Kolkata-class warship and the first of P15-B stealth destroyers which is designed indigenously and fitted with advanced features. It is the largest destroyer commissioned in India.

17 April: Indias second largest state-owned oil explorer company, Oil India Limited (OIL) has

commissioned 54 MW wind energy projects saddled between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

16 April: Nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Agni-III ballistic missile was successfully tested.The test was conducted from Wheelar Isalnd off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) with support of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

15 April: Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with

a Russian company INTMA to set up a gas-based power project in Kazakhstan.

14 April: Union Government constituted a task force on interlinking of rivers in the country.The Task Force will be chaired by former Secretary of Ministry of Water Resources B N Navalawala and comprises experts and senior officials.

14 April: Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has renamed Tourist Visa on Arrival-Electronic Travel Authorization scheme (TVoA-ETA) to e-Tourist Visa with effect from 15 April 2015.With this ambiguities faced by foreign tourists especially by schemes nomenclature VoA, presuming that they would be granted visa on arrival upon landing will be removed.

14 April: Border Security Force (BSF) launched nationwide satellite-based tele-medicine programme for its troops.The programme will address medical and health-related problems of its troops deployed in far-flung frontier areas and difficult regions in the hinterland in case of an emergency or illness.

14April: FM transmission of Vividh Bharati Service was launched by Union Information and Broadcasting

Minister Arun Jaitley.

i. Vividh Bharti service will be available on 100.1 Megahertz (MHz) frequency. It will be also available on mobile phone.


ii. It will be available to listeners in and around Delhi within a range of 60-65 km.

13 April: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) commissioned 600 MW unit of a thermal power project for the Dainik Bhaskar Power Limited (DBPL) at Dhabra in Janjgir Champa district of Chhattisgarh.

13 April: Union Government has brought into force the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014 along with the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014.

With this new law the collegium system to appoint members to the higher judiciary has come to an end. Now President will appoint judges in the Supreme Court (SC) and 24 High Courts (HCs) in consultation with the NJAC.

10 April: Union government has suspended the registration of Greenpeace India, a non-profit environmental organization for six months with immediate effect. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after Greenpeace India had prejudicially acted against the public interests and economic interests of the country.As per MHA, Greenpeace India has used its funds received from foreign sources for unauthorised purposes and has violated the rules mentioned Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010.

10 April: India was elected to four key bodies of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC). Four key subsidiary bodies are : (a) Executive Board of United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), (b) Executive Board of World Food Programme (WFP), (c) Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), (d) Governing Council of United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)

9 April: Union government has allowed pharmaceutical companies to hike rates of 509 essential medicines by 3.84 per cent. The new prices will be effective from 1 April 2015. These essential medicines are used for treating various ailments like hepatitis B and C, diabetes, and cancer.

9 April: India has registered a major milestone for the nuclear industry by producing record nuclear fuel i.e. producing over 1,252 Metric Tonne (MT) of uranium bundles.

8 April: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has proposed 112 as a single emergency number that can be used all across the country including for police, fire and ambulance departments. This emergency number will be similar to the 911 an all-in-one emergency service in the United States.

7 April: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

approved strengthening and widening of three sections connecting the two temple towns of Varanasi and Madurai.

6 April: First indigenously-built Scorpene Submarine was undocked at the Mazagaon Dockyard Limited

(MDL) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The undocked submarine was named Kalvari and is expected to be commissioned into Indian Navy by September 2016.


6 April: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched National Air Quality Index (AQI) to give pollution

information on real time basis. AQI will be used to inform people about daily air quality in turn it will provide advisories on health consequences.

4 April: Union Government on 4 April 2015 formally launched the Give It Up movement in Karnataka. It

was launched by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradan. The movement appeals to the rich people to voluntarily give up their subsidy amount given on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders.

4 April: Union Government again has extended rolling out deadline for National Food Security Act (NFSA),

2013 by six months.

2 April: Union Cabinet gave its approval for the amendment of the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The approved amendments in parent act aims at improving the quality of homeopathy education in the country to provide better healthcare through the homeopathy system of medicine.

GLOBE- TROT THIS MONTH

25 April: India was placed at 117th position in the recently released World Happiness Report 2015 among the 158 studied nations. The report was published by the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

24 April: Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner have signed a series of framework agreements on economic and energy co-operation in Moscow. The signed agreements include

Russian investment in a hydroelectric plant in Argentinas Neuquen River. Russias Rosatom nuclear corporation to build a new reactor at Argentinas Atucha 3 nuclear power plant. Memorandum of co-operation (MoC) on defence between both nations.

24 April: Calbuco volcano in southern Chile erupted for the first time after more than 42 years. It had

erupted twice in the space of a few hours which led to billowing of huge ash cloud over a sparsely populated, mountainous area in southern Chile. Chilean Government authorities after the eruption have ordered evacuation of the 1,500 inhabitants of the nearby towns.

22 April: Pakistan Government on 21 April 2015 conferred Nishan-e-Pakistan, top civilian award on Chinese President Xi Jinping. He was bestowed with this award for his outstanding contribution in promotion of relationship between the two countries by Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain.

22 April: Japans state-of-the-art Magnetic levitation technology (Maglev) train has clocked a new world

speed record smashing through the 603 kilometre per hour mark in a test run near Mount Fuji.The new record has surpassed its previous record of 581 kilometres per hour which was set in 2003.


21 April: Global E-Waste Monitor 2014 report by United Nations, India is the fifth biggest producer of e-

waste in the world. The report was compiled by UN think tank United Nations University (UNU).

17 April: Russia and Pakistan have agreed to hold first-ever joint military exercises as part of their enhanced defence cooperation. As per the agreement, both nations will strive for --------

Enhancing cooperation in defence industry and military training. Promoting joint participation in military exercises. Increasing military cooperation in training and import of arms and equipment. Resolving conflicts through diplomatic means rather than using of force.

15 April: Canada has agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium to India under a $254 million five-year deal to power Indian atomic reactors.

15 April: Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Russian company INTMA to set up a gas-based power project in Kazakhstan. By signing this MoU, BHEL will be able to expand its footprint in the commonwealth of independent states (CIS) region.

14 April: KatTurkey on 14 April 2015 began the construction of its first nuclear power plant located at Akkuyu in Mersin province on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It will be built by Akkuyu Project Company, a subsidiary of Russias nuclear agency Rosatom.

12 April: India and France signed 17 agreements in various fields during Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modis visit to France. Some of key agreements signed are --- (1) MoU between Larsen and Tubro and AREVA, (2) Pre-engineering agreements (PEA) between NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India) and Areva, (3) MoU between CNES (French National Centre for Space Studies) and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) on Megha Tropiques satellite, (4) MoU between Union Sports Ministry and French Ministry of Sports, (5) Railway protocol between Union Railways Ministry and French National Railways (SNCF).

11 April: India is going to chair the ninth International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) council meeting to be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).The 9th IRENA council is scheduled to start from 10 June 2015 and will be a two day event.

11April: Asteroid 316201 was named as 316201 Malala after the youngest Nobel laureate and girls

education campaigner Malala Yousafzai. Asteroid 316201 Malala is located in the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter. It orbits around the Sun every 5.5 years and is more-than 2 mile wide.

10 April: India was elected to four key bodies of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN

ECOSOC).India was elected to these bodies during ECOSOCs coordination and management meeting held at UN headquarters in New York, United States (US) by acclamation i.e. form of election that does not use a ballot.


1 April: Former military ruler Genral Muhammadu Buhari won the Presidential election in Nigeria. He defeated incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan by more than two million votes.

APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH

23 April: Indian-American Dr. Vivek Murthy was sworn-in as the US Surgeon General. He was administered oath by US Vice President Joe Biden at a ceremony held at Fort Myer in Virginia.

20 April: Finlands opposition Centre Party has won the General Election 2015 by defeating the left-right coalition National Coalition party of incumbent Prime Minister Alexander Stubb.

20 April: Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar was appointed as chief adviser of the Board of Control for Cricket in Indias (BCCI) Anti-Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU).

19 April: Nasim Zaidi assumed the charge as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He is Indias 20th CEC and succeeded Hari Shankar Brahma, who had retired on April 18, 2015.

18 April: Supreme Court has appointed Vivek Priyadarshi to head an investigating team to further probe the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 6 spot-fixing and betting scandals.

17 April: United Nation (UN) peace envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar has resigned, after losing support from Gulf countries for his mission in the conflict-riven nation. Since 2012, he was serving as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moons special envoy for Yemen.

15 April: Pankaj More on 15 April 2015 was appointed as Technology Head of Wal-Mart India Private Limited. Pankaj has over 19 years of experience and had had joined WalMart in January 2013. He was leading the ISD strategy for the Walmart Asia market including Japan, China & India.

15 April: Senior diplomat Dr. Mohan Kumar has been appointed the Indias next Ambassador to France. He will succeed Arun Kumar who was recently appointed Ambassador to the United States.

14 April: Indian-American businesswoman Shamina Singh has been nominated as the member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).She was nominated to top most post by United States President Barack Obama for term of four year i.e. till October 2019.

10 April: Arun Kumar Jha was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Mumbai.

10 April: Captain Anoop Kumar Sharma has taken over as whole-time director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Essar Shipping Ltd (ESL).

9 April: President Pranab Mukherjee on 9 April 2015 appointed the senior most Election Commissioner (EC), Dr. Nasim Zaidi as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).


8 April: Sumit Mazumder was elected as the President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2015-16. He is Chairman & Managing Director (MD) of TIL Limited. He will succeed Ajay Shriram, Chairman of DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd.

7 April: Dr Mayilsamy Annadurai has assumed the office of Director, ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) in Bengaluru, Karnataka. He replaced Dr. S.K. Shivakumar, who had retired on 31 March 2015. Annadurai had joined ISRO in 1982. He had started his career at ISAC as the team leader to design and develop Software Satellite Simulator.

7 April: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has re-appointed Rajeev Shukla as chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council. He replaced Ramakrishnan A. R. who had retired from service on 31 March 2015.

4 April: Pedro Cateriano Bellido was appointed as Prime Minister of Peru by the President Ollanta Humala. He will replace Ana Jara, who had lost a confidence vote and was sacked by Peruvian Congress amid allegations of corruption.

3 April: Captain Anoop Kumar Sharma has taken over as whole-time director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Essar Shipping Ltd (ESL). He replaced Ramakrishnan A. R. who had retired from service on 31 March 2015.

1 April: Gulshan Rai on 1 April 2015 took charge as Indias first cyber security chief under the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) as Special Secretary for cyber security. Prior to this appointment, he was Director-General Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) at the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).

4 April: Pedro Cateriano Bellido was appointed as Prime Minister of Peru by the President Ollanta Humala. He will replace Ana Jara, who had lost a confidence vote and was sacked by Peruvian Congress amid allegations of corruption.

3 April: Captain Anoop Kumar Sharma has taken over as whole-time director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Essar Shipping Ltd (ESL). He replaced Ramakrishnan A. R. who had retired from service on 31 March 2015.

1 April: Gulshan Rai on 1 April 2015 took charge as Indias first cyber security chief under the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) as Special Secretary for cyber security. Prior to this appointment, he was Director-General Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) at the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).

AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH

30 April: Two Indians, Dr. Pramod Patil and Dr Ananda Kumar have been awarded with the prestigious 2015 Whitley Awards for their contribution to wildlife conservation in developing countries. Both of them


received a Whitley prize worth 35000 pound along with seven other environmentalists at a ceremony in Royal Geographical Society, London.

28 April: Novelist Siddhartha Gigoo has won 2500 pounds 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize in Asia region for his novel Umbrella Man.

27 April: French Government has honoured former Union Finance Minister and veteran BJP leader Yashwant Sinha with Officier de la Lgion dHonneur (Officer of the Legion of Honour).

27 April: Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) has won The Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015.The award was presented to the BMB in the Technology Implementation category of Best Outsourcing Project (New Bank).

26 April: 50th Jnanpith Award was conferred on eminent Marathi litterateur Bhalchandra Nemade on 25 April 2015.He was presented award comprising of 11 lakh rupees and a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Saraswati by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a function in Parliament House Complex in New Delhi.

26 April: Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor conferred with prestigious Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award 2015.He was presented the award by noted historian and writer Babasaheb Purandare.\

26 April: Indian-origin diplomat Gopinath Pillai was awarded Outstanding Service Award for his services by the National University of Singapore (NUS). Current he is serving as Ambassador-at-Large of Singapore and special envoy to Andhra Pradesh.

22 April: Pakistan Government conferred Nishan-e-Pakistan, top civilian award on Chinese President Xi Jinping. He was bestowed with this award for his outstanding contribution in promotion of relationship between the two countries by Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain.

18 April: United States (US) President Barack Obama is going to honour Microsofts Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella with the Champions of Change award.He will be honoured with this award for bringing change within his company to support working families.

16 April: Professor Susanta Lahiri was awarded prestigious the Hevesy Medal Award 2015.The award was presented to him for his outstanding contributions in heavy ion induced radioisotope production, converter targets, tracer packet technique and green chemistry.

9 April: Uttar Pradesh government has conferred Sahitya Shiromani Samman upon noted Hindi poet Gopal Das Neeraj. The award carrying cash prize of 21 lakh Rupees was bestowed upon Neeraj by UP Chief Akhilesh Yadav.

7 April: 15-year-old Indian-origin student, Pratap Singh from United Kingdom (UK) has won prestigious award Institute of Physics (IOP) Prize.


6 April: Syrian-Lebanese Arab poet Adonis has been chosen for 2015 Kumaran Asan World Prize for poetry. Adonis was born as Ali Ahmad Said Esber in Western Syria in 1930. Since 1985, he had settled in Paris, France.

6 April: Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has won the prestigious Golden Peacock National Quality

Award for the year 2015.

3 April: Mariyam Asif Siddiqui, a 12-year-old Muslim girl from Mumbai has secured first place Shrimad Bhagwad Gita Champion League. She won the first prize in an inter-school competition for explaining the teachings of the holy book- Bhagwad Gita. The Shrimad Bhagwad Gita Champion League was organised by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in March.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

29 April: Railway Sports Promotion Board has won the 5th Senior Mens National Hockey Championship 2015. In the final match, they defeated Uttar Pradesh Hockey by 5-3 goals which was played at Pune.

27 April: World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway on 26 April 2015 won the Shamkir Chess tournament held in Azerbaijan.In the ninth and final round, he defeated Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan in 35 moves and scored seven points.

27 April: Indias Shamjetsabam Sarjubala and Pinki Jangra have clinched gold medals at the 22nd Presidents Cup Open International Boxing Tournament held in Indonesia. On the other hand, Shamjetsabam Sarjubala won the gold medal in 48kg category by defeating Russias Iseva Joya in the final match played at Palembang, South Sumatra. Pinki Jangra won the gold medal in 51kg category by defeating Mongolias Nandintsetseg by 2-1 score.

19 April: Three Indian race walkers Khushbir Kaur, Manish Rawat and Sandeep Kumar have qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics. In the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Race Walking Challenge held at Rio Maiorin Portugal, National womens 20km walk record holder Khushbir Kaur clocked 1 hour 33 minute and 58 seconds below the Rio Oympic qualification time of 1 hour and 35 minutes. In the mens 20km race walk event Manish Rawat and Sandeep Kumar qualified for Rio Games.

19 April: Indias Y Pranjala has won the Asian Junior Tennis championship title on 18 April 2015. In the final match played at New Delhi she defeated Chinas Zheng Wushuang with a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 scoreline.

19 April: Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton from Britain on 19 April 2015 won Bahrain Grand Prix of Formula One on the Sakhir Grand Prix Circuit.

18 April: Ashish Jakhar from Haryana on 17 April 2015 set a national youth record in boys hammer throw event and won gold medal in the 12th National Youth\ Athletics Championships held in Bambolim, Goa.


15 April: Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on 15 April 2015 was inducted into the prestigious Laureus Sports Academy. Along with him four other sportspersons were inducted as new members in the Academy. They are

Yao Ming- Retired Chinese professional basketball player. Tegla Loroupe- Kenyan long-distance runner. Li Xiaopeng- Chinese gymnast. Yang Yang- Former Chinese short track speed skater Yang Yang.

12 April: New Zealand has won the 24th edition of Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2015 for second

time. In the final match, New Zealand defeated World Champions Australia by 3-1 goals in the penalty shoot-out. In regulation 60 minutes time, both teams had tied at 2-2 goals.

12 April: Sania Mirza on 12 April 2015 created history by becoming the first Indian female tennis player to achieve the world number one rank in doubles category. She achieved this feat after winning WTA Family Circle Cup along with her Swiss partner Martina Hingis.

12 April: Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton from Britain on 12 April 2015 won Chinese Grand Prix of Formula One on the Shanghai International Circuit in China.

12 April: Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai won a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Changwon, South Korea.

11 April: Yuki Bhambri has won the 15,000 US Dollar ITF Futures tournament title. In the final he recorded a straight-set win over Dzmitry Zhyrmont of Belarus played at Karshi, Uzbekistan.

11 April: Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela on 11 April 2015 won Bronze medal in the 10-metre air rifle event at the (International Shooting Sport Federation) ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup in Changwon, South Korea.

8 April: Gujarat won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T-20 cricket trophy for the tournament season 2014-15. In the final match played at KIIT Stadium, Odisha they defeated Punjab by two wickets

6 April: Indian chess Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika on 6 April 2015 won the bronze medal in the World Womens chess championships along with Swedish Grandmaster Pia Cramling.

6 April: World No. 1 and Serbian ace tennis player Novak Djokovic has won the 2015 Miami Open Mens Singles Title. In the final match he defeated Britains Andy Murray by 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-0 score. This was Djokovics fifth Miami Open trophy.

4 April: Malli Mastan Babu, one of Indias top mountaineers passed away. His dead body was recovered in the Andes Mountains between Argentina and Chile after he went missing on 24th March, 2015 during an expedition to Cerro Tres Cruces Sur.


3 April: Minor planet was named after Indias chess legend and first grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand by the Minor Planet Center. His name was given to the minor planet which was previously identified as planet 4538. Now the planet will be called as 4538 Vishyanand and is located somewhere between the Mars and Jupiter.

1 April: New Zealand cricketer Kyle Mills on 1 April 2014 announced retirement from international cricket.

EULOGIES THIS MONTH

30 April: Eminent Marathi film and stage actress Bimba Modak passed away due to her old age. She was 97

29 April: The Oscar-winning cinematographer Andrew Lesnie passed away. He was 59.

28 April: Senior Pakistani politician and Baloch nationalist leader Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti passed away in Quetta, Balochistan. He was 63.

27 April: Hashim Mbita, a Tanzanian army general and the icon of the southern Africa liberation struggle, died at the age of 74.

22 April: Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, a three-time Odisha Chief Minister and former Governor of Assam, passed away in Tirupati. He was 89.

22 April: Eminent historian Professor Christopher Alan Bayly died in Chicago. He was 70.

21 April: Bengal batsman Ankit Keshri passed away. He was 20 years old.

20 April: Jaroslav Holik, an offensive forward who helped Czechoslovakia win a hockey world title and an Olympic bronze medal in 1972, has died. He was 72.

17 April: Former Prime Minister of Nepal, Surya Bahadur Thapa passed away in Gurgaon. He was 87.

16 April: Former Czech Republic Prime Minister Stanislav Gross died. He was 45. He was the youngest Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 2004 to 2005 at the age of 34.

15 April: Renowned film director and actor of Assam Bidyut Chakraborty died. He was 55.

15 April: The Nobel-winning legendary German writer Gunter Grass passed away at the age of 87 years.

14 April: Lt Gen Hanut Singh (retd) has passed away in Dehradun. He was 82 years old.


11 April: Former Australian captain and legendary cricket commentator Richie Benaud has died at the age of 84.

10 April: Firebrand writer Jayakanthan, who is a legend in Tamil writing and literature passed away. He was 81.

5 April: Noted singer E.M. Hanifa whose voice transcended religious lines died at Chennai. He was 97.

4 April: Sunita Tomar, poster girl of Indias anti-tobacco campaign passed away at her hometown in Bhind

district of Madhya Pradesh.

4 April: Malli Mastan Babu, one of the top mountaineers of India, passed away. His dead body was recovered from Andes Mountains in South America, between Argentina and Chile, after he went missing on 24 March 2015. He was 40

1 April: Renowned Hindi poet Kailash Vajpeyi died in New Delhi. He was 79.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH

29 April: The logo of International Day of Yoga was launched in New Delhi by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Union Minister of State (MoS) for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik.

27 April: The first postal Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in Punjab and Union Territory of Chandigarh was opened at the General Post Office (GPO) in Chandigarh.

27 April: The Asia Africa Summit ended with leaders of Asia and Africa endorsing documents aimed at strengthening multilateral relationships between the two regions. The summit was organised in Indonesia's capital Jakarta.

25 April: Metals and mining conglomerate Sesa Sterlite Ltd has changed its name to Vedanta Ltd to better align with its international identity Vedanta Resources.

24 April: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has accorded final approval to two national parks i.e. Kudermukh National Park in Karnataka and Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand for being declared as tiger reserves.

23 April: With an aim of monitoring implementation of various ongoing projects including Rail Budget proposals, railways launched E-Samiksha, an online monitoring mechanism.


21 April: Japanese bullet train Maglev created a new world speed record of 603 kilometer per hour (kmph) in a test run near Mount Fuji. The seven-car maglev (short for magnetic levitation) train broke its previous record of 580 kilometer per hour created in 2003.

20 April: Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli announced to set up his chain of gyms and fitness centres with the investment of 90 crore rupees.The gyms will be launched under the brand name Chisel.

17 April: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued recommendations on broadband growth. It released recommendations on Delivering Broadband Quickly: What do we need to do? The Authority in its recommendations raised concerns about the slow penetration and adoption of broadband in the country.

14 April: Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the Vividh Bharati Service of Delhi on FM Mode in a function held at premises of New Broadcasting House of All India Radio (AIR). The service will be available on 100.1 Megahertz frequency.

11 April: PepsiCo India commissioned first phase of India's largest beverage plant at Sri City (Andhra Pradesh). The plant is a planned integrated township located 55 km North of Tamil Nadu capital Chennai. Its a manufacturing hub comprising a special economic zone (SEZ) of 2,700 acres.

9 April: Globetrotters from Switzerland shelled out maximum money for their stay in India among the foreign tourists in 2014, an 11 per cent rise from their spending on hotels against last year, according to a report.

8 April: India Post, the postal department of Govt. of India closed its 135-year old Money Order (MO) service.

8 April: A comprehensive Pew Research Center study shows that by 2050, India will surpass Indonesia to have the largest Muslim population by any country in the world. However, India will continue to have a Hindu majority, the study noted.

6 April: Union Government launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) India Scheme. The scheme was launched as part of the National Mission for Electric Mobility to boost eco-friendly vehicles sales in the country.

4 April: M.S. Convent, the first direct container vessel from India to Qatar arrived at Doha as part of a non-stop service launched to facilitate swift trade between the two countries.

3 April: Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh launched part one of e-Vidhan Mobile apps.


2 April: Film actress and local Member of Parliament Hema Malini launched Uttar Pradesh's first water dispensing ATM at Sonkh town in Mathura district.

2 April: The US space agency NASA has selected 12 Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) to develop the exploration.

1 April: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became the largest political party in the world with number of its registered members crossing the figure of 8.8 crore.

RECURRING TERMS

(1) 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal

A high-intensity earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale had struck central Nepal between its capital Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara on 25 April 2015.

Earthquakes epicenter was 80 kilometers east of Pokhra near Kathmandu. It had a depth of only 11 kilometers (7 miles) i.e. in geological terms it was a shallow depth.

The intensity of this earthquake was high due to its shallower depth which had more destructive power. It has resulted in thousands of deaths and tremendous loss of property.

The tremors of this quake were felt in north Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana, and Punjab. The tremors were also reported in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Earlier, Nepal had suffered its worst recorded earthquake in 1934. It was measured 8.0 and had destroyed the cities of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan.

Reasons for catastrophic earthquake in Nepal

This earthquake in Nepal may have occurred because of two converging tectonic plates, the India plate and the overriding Eurasian plate.

These tectonic plates are the large, thin, relatively rigid and are moving relative to one another on the outer surface of the Earth. Both of these plates are slowly moving and sometimes get stuck at their edges due to friction.

Earthquake might have occured because of these overriding plates after the stress on the edge overcomes the friction. It releases tremendous energy in form of waves that travel through the Earths crust and causes earthquake on the surface.


(2) Union Government unveils new Foreign Trade Policy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ambitious MUDRA Bank on 8 April 2015 at a function held at New Delhi. This bank would primary be a lending entity to micro and small business entities engaged in manufacturing, trading and service activities.

Following are the primary highlights and facts associated with Mudra Bank:

What MUDRA stands for:

The term MUDRA stands for Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA). In Sanskrit and Hindi MURDA also means currency.

What will be the main objective?

MUDRA Bank will be responsible for developing and refinancing all microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in the business of lending to micro and small business entities in manufacturing, trading and service activities. In Prime Minister Narendra Modis words It will be the bank for the unbanked people and businesses. Since small entreprenuers are businssess are often cut off from banking system because of limited branch presence, Mudra Bank will partner with local coordinators and provide finance to Last Mile Financiers of small/micro businesses.

What will the main roles to be played by MUDRA Bank?

Laying down policy guidelines for micro enterprise financing business, registration of MFI entities

Accreditation, rating of MFI entities

Laying down responsible financing practices to ward off over-indebtedness and ensure proper client protection principles and methods of recovery

Development of standardised set of covenants governing last-mile lending to micro enterprises


Promoting right technology solutions for the last mile

Formulating and running a credit guarantee scheme for providing guarantees to loans and portfolios being extended to micro enterprises

Support development and promotional activities in the sector

Creating a good architecture for last-mile credit delivery

Which scheme will be the primary support for MUDRA Bank?

The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana will be the main support system for MUDRA Bank.

MUDRA Bank will work under which entity?

MUDRA Bank will be the part of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), which is a principal financial institution for the micro, small and medium enterprises in India. The bank will also partner with states and regional level coordinators for providing funding to last-mile financiers of small and micro business enterprises.

What is the initial corpus of MUDRA Bank?

MUDRA Bank has been started with an initial corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore. Apart from this, Rs. 3,000 crore has been earmarked as credit guarantee corpus.

What will be the expanse of MUDRA Banks operations?

MUDRA Bank will cater to the financing needs of over 5.77 crore small business units that are spread all across India who currently find it difficult to access credit from the regular banking system.

What are the names given to 3 financing stages for MUDRA Bank?

Shishu, Kishore and Tarun

Shishu : It will be the first financing stage for MUDRA Bank and will include the time when a business entity is just starting its operations. The loan cover in this stage will be upto Rs 50,000.

Kishore: It will be the second financing stage for MUDRA Bank and the entreprenuer will be eligible for a loan ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh under this stage.

Tarun: It will be the third and final financing stage for MUDRA Bank and maximum loan up to Rs. 10 lakh can be provided under this stage.

(3) Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC)


India was elected to four key bodies of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC).India was elected to these bodies during ECOSOCs coordination and management meeting held at UN headquarters in New York, United States (US) by acclamation i.e. form of election that does not use a ballot.

Four key subsidiary bodies are

Executive Board of United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) - India is elected for a 3 year term beginning January 2016. It was elected, along with 13 other nations.

Executive Board of World Food Programme (WFP) - India is re-elected to the for a 2 year period starting from January 2016, along with 5 other nations.

Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) India is elected for a 3 year period starting from January 2016. India was elected along with 19 other nations. Some of them are Iran, Pakistan, Austria, France, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and US.

Governing Council of United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) -India is elected for a 3 year period starting from January 2016 along with 13 other nations.

With this, India has created significant 100 percent record of winning the UNECOSOC elections.

While, The New York Times has won two prestigious Pulitzer prizes for coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

(4) E-Samiksha

Indian Railways on 21 April 2015 launched E-Samiksha, an online monitoring mechanism.

E-Samiksha aims at monitoring implementation of various ongoing projects of Indian Railways on real-time basis including Rail Budget proposals.

It was launched by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi.

Facts about E-Samiksha


E-Samiksha is designed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).

It has been developed to make it a highly interactive web-based, user-friendly and customised system.

E-Samiksha will be used to monitor budget-related projects and also for monitoring the infrastructure target and board meeting follow-up.

Currently, it is being used by Cabinet Secretariat, Prime Ministers Office and other Ministries for monitoring progress implementation of various programmes and follow-up of meetings.

(5) Foreign Trade Policy (FTP)

The new trade policy will incorporate government ambitious initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India mission, Skill India programme, ease of business in order to boost jobs and take Indias exports to 900 billion dollars by 2020.

The goals of the new policy will be achieved by simplifying complex procedures, addressing infrastructural bottlenecks and eliminating manufacturing hurdles.

Focus areas of the new FTP are

Labour intensive sectors to generate more employment.

Boosting to environment-friendly products.

High tech value addition.

Involving skill India programme to promote entrepreneurship.

Moving towards branding of products.

Incentives for units located in SEZs.


Making the life of traders easier.

Key facts

FTP also takes into consideration e-commerce. Under the new policy, Indias nascent, e-commerce sector would also be extended sops.

The new trade policy will be based on two new schemes- Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Services Exports from India Scheme (SIES). Under these two schemes, government has merged all earlier export promotion schemes.

MEIS is for export of specified goods in specified markets with the rate of rewards range from 2 to 5%. SIES is for increasing exports of notified services and the selected services will be rewarded at the rates of 3 to 5%.

The new also move towards paperless working. In this regard, a facility has been created to upload documents in exporter/ importer profile in order to avoid need of repeatedly submitting documents.

ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH

ABBREVIATIONS

1. ADR - American Depository Receipt

2. AFS - Annual Financial Statement

3. AGM - Annual General Meeting

4. ASSOCHAM - Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India

5. BSCS - Basel Committee on Banking Supervision

6. BSR - Basic Statistical Returns

7. CAD - Capital Account Deficit

8. CVC - Central Vigilance Commission

9. DAP - Development Action Plan

10. DBOD - Department of Banking Operations and Development

11. DBS - Department of Banking Supervision, RBI


12. DGBA - Department of Government and Bank Accounts, RBI

13. DICGC - Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India

14. ECB - External Commercial Borrowing

15. IFCI- Industrial Finance Corporation of India

16. IFS - International Financial Statistics

17. IGLS - Iterative Generalized Least Squares

18. ISO- International Standards Organization

19. NFD- Net Fiscal Deficit

20. NGO- Non-Governmental Organization

21. NNML- Net Non-Monetary Liabilities

22. SSSBE Small Scale Service and Business Enterprises

23. ALM Asset Liability Management

24. CBLO Collateralised Bank Lending Obligations

25. CIBIL Credit Information Bureau of India Limited

26. DPG Deferred Payment Guarantee

27. DPN Demand Promissory Note

28. DRAT Debt Recovery Appellate tribunal

29. DRI Differential Rate of Interest

30. DSCR Debt Service Coverage Ratio

31. EDI Electronic Data Interchange

32. EMI Equated Monthly Instalments

33. EPS Earnings Per Share


34. ESOP Employee Stock Options

35. FEDAI Foreign Exchange Dealers Association of India

36. FFMC Full Fledged Money Changers

37. EEFC - Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency

38. NCTC - National Counter-Terrorism Centre

39. PMGSY- Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

40. PMJBY- Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana

41. PMSBY- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH

April 29 - International Dance Day

April 25 - World Malaria Day

April 24: National Panchayati Raj Day

April 23: World Book and Copyright Day

April 22: Earth Day

April 21: Civil Services Day

April 18: World Heritage Day

April 17: World Hemophilia Day

April 7: World Health Day

April 2: World Autism Awareness Day

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH

(1) 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal


A high-intensity earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale had struck central Nepal between its capital Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara on 25 April 2015.

Earthquakes epicenter was 80 kilometers east of Pokhra near Kathmandu. It had a depth of only 11 kilometers (7 miles) i.e. in geological terms it was a shallow depth.

The intensity of this earthquake was high due to its shallower depth which had more destructive power. It has resulted in thousands of deaths and tremendous loss of property.

The tremors of this quake were felt in north Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana, and Punjab. The tremors were also reported in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Earlier, Nepal had suffered its worst recorded earthquake in 1934. It was measured 8.0 and had destroyed the cities of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan.

Reasons for catastrophic earthquake in Nepal

This earthquake in Nepal may have occurred because of two converging tectonic plates, the India plate and the overriding Eurasian plate.

These tectonic plates are the large, thin, relatively rigid and are moving relative to one another on the outer surface of the Earth. Both of these plates are slowly moving and sometimes get stuck at their edges due to friction.

Earthquake might have occured because of these overriding plates after the stress on the edge overcomes the friction. It releases tremendous energy in form of waves that travel through the Earths crust and causes earthquake on the surface.

(2) Pulitzer Award 2015

All the Light We Cannot See, a novel based on Second World War by author Anthony Doerr has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

While, The New York Times has won two prestigious Pulitzer prizes for coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

List of 2015 Pulitzer Prize Winners

Books, Drama and Music


Fiction- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

Drama Between Riverside and Crazy by Stephen Adly Guirgis

History Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People by Elizabeth A. Fenn.

Biography The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe by David I. Kertzer.

Poetry Digest by Gregory Pardlo.

General Nonfiction- The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert.

Music Anthracite Fields by Julia Wolfe.Journalism

Public Service- The Post and Courier, Charleston.

Breaking News Reporting- The Seattle Times Staff.

Investigative Reporting- Eric Lipton of New York Times and Wall Street Journal Staff.

Explanatory Reporting- Zachary R. Mider of Bloomberg News.

Local Reporting- Rob Kuznia, Rebecca Kimitch and Frank Suraci of the Daily Breeze.

National Reporting Carol D. Leonnig of Washington Post.

International Reporting New York Times Staff.

Feature Writing Diana Marcum of the Los Angeles Times.

Commentary- Lisa Falkenberg of the Houston Chronicle.

Criticism Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times.

Editorial Writing Kathleen Kingsbury of Boston Globe.

Editorial Cartooning Adam Zyglis of Buffalo News.

Breaking News Photography St. Louis Post-Dispatch Photography Staff.

Feature Photography Daniel Berehulak, freelance photographer of New York Times.

(3) 17 Agreements signed between India and France during PM Narendra Modis visit


India and France on 11 April 2015 signed 17 agreements in various fields during Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modis visit to France.

They were signed in presence of Indian PM and his counterpart French President Francois Hollande after they had held wide-ranging talks in Paris.

Some of key agreements signed are

MoU between Larsen and Tubro and AREVA- It aims at improve the financial viability of the Jaitapur Nuclear plant project by reducing cost by increasing localization.

It will also enable France to transfer of technology to India for development of indigenous nuclear energy industry in India.

Pre-engineering agreements (PEA) between NPCIL and Areva- It intends to bring clarity on all technical aspects of the plant.

It will help all parties including AREVA, Alstom and NPCIL to fix their price and optimise all provisions for risks (still included at this stage) in the costs of the project.

MoU between CNES and ISRO on Megha Tropiques satellite- It extends MoU for two more years of joint project for sharing and use of data from the satellite.

The satellite was launched in October 2011 on board of Indian launch vehicle PSLV.

MOU between ISRO, CNES and ONERA- It proposes cooperation in the areas of satellite remote sensing, satellite communications and satellite meteorology and others field.

MoU between Union Sports Ministry and French Ministry of Sports- It envisages cooperation and exchange of experiences in the fields of sports medicine and institutional cooperation.

Railway protocol between Union Railways Ministry and French National Railways (SNCF)- It seeks to establish cooperation between Indian and French Railways for semi-high speed rail and station renovation.

Other agreements signed between both nations in the fields of economy, energy, culture, tourism, conservation, Ayurveda, skill development and science and technology.

Note- NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India), CNES (French National Centre for Space Studies), ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation)

(4) Indias first IFSC becomes operational at GIFT City in Gujarat

Indias first International financial Services Centre (IFSC) became operational at Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat.


It became operational after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled the rules and regulations for this global financial hub.

Key facts of IFSC rules and regulations

Aim at creating a vibrant IFSC on the lines of those in Dubai and Singapore.

They also seek to check the flight of trading in rupee and Indian securities to such offshore financial hubs.

These rules will allow companies incorporate outside India to raise money in foreign currencies by issuance and listing of their equity shares on stock exchanges within the IFSC.

They will also allow individual and institutional investors from India and abroad, including NRIs to trade.

Allows foreign and Indian stock exchanges to set up separate bourses within IFSC as subsidiaries.

Relaxes capital and other requirements for some time in order to facilitate exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories to set shop in the IFSC.

Allows alternative investment funds and mutual funds that have set up in the IFSC to invest in the securities listed there.

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